18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China

The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (zh-st|s=中国共产党第十八次全国代表大会|t=中國共產黨第十八次全國代表大會 Pinyin: "Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Dìshíbācì Quánguó Dàibiǎo Dàhuì", abbreviated "Shíbā-dà" [十八大] ) will be the next major Communist Party Congress in China. Barring any possibility of institutional reform or systematic political change, it will held in Beijing, China, at the Great Hall of the People sometime in the autumn of 2012. Due to term restrictions, Hu Jintao must step down as the party's General Secretary at this time, and the Congress will elect the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and will likely elect currently touted successors into power.